Conveyer for use with furnaces



April 1, 1930. w. M; HEPBURN 1,752,432 CONVEYER FOR USE WITH, FUR ACESFiler] Oct, 1. 1928 INVENTDR.

' WJMHEFBURN AT-TDRNEV :Patenterl. l, 123% 'nrreo STATES igsaaz WILLIAMM. HEPBURN, OF TOLEDO, OHIQ,

ASSIGNOR TO THE SURFACE COMBUSTION COMPANY, INC, TOLEDO, OHIO, ACORPORATION OF NEW YORK oonvnrnn non use wrrn summons Application filedOctober 1, 1928. Serial No. 309,529.

This invention relates to improvements in conveyors and moreparticularly to conveyers for use in. connection with heating furnacesfor heating the ends of bolt stock and other relatively elongatedobjects.

' The invention "has for an object to provide a conveyer which shall beparticularly well adapted for handling relativelyshort rods where oneend of the rods is to be heated by insertion into a side opening in theside wall of the furnace. Other objects will more .fully appearhereinafter. v

- In accordance-with this invention there is provided alongside alongitudinally extending side opening in a heating furnace a conveyerscrew on which the rods are supported in a manner to be moved axially ofthe screw as the latter rotates. Cooperating with said screw is amovable means for maintaining the rods in a given angular or transverseposition with respect to said conveyer, said means preferably consistingof a screw of the same pitch as said conveyer screw. may

Means are also provided for discharging the rods from. the conveyingmeans. v

For a more complete understanding of the invention reference is made tothe detailed description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing wherein the preferred 0 embodiment of the invention is shown; iReferring to the drawings:

1 is a plan view of the conveyor showing it in position alongside of aheating furnace having a longitudinally extending side opening throughwhich the rods are inserted into the furnace for heating;

Fig. 2 is vertical section on line 2 2 of Fig. i; an

1 .Si enlarged conveyor.

In the drawings, 10 indicates a portion of a heating furnace of anysuitable type having a longitudinally extending'side opening 12 throughwhich rods 01' the like B may be inserted for heating.

Extending alongside of the opening 12 is a conveyor screw generallyindicated at C which for convenience ofdescription may be moreparticularly identified as a shaft 14 havs a fragmentary side'elevationon an scale of the discharge end of the ing a thread way 18 wherein thework or rods B may be received when disposed transversely-of the shaftor screw. The top of the shaft 14: is arranged in substantially the samelevel as the bottom of the furnace slot 12. The ends of the shaft aresupported in 'suitable'.bearings 20 and 22 respectively, supported on asuitable frame work. A water trough 24 extends below the screw and is.sufiiciently high to allow proper cooling of the screw. Where the screwis relatively long there maybe provided at intervals additionalsupporting means in the form of rollers 26 for the screw, itbeingunderstood that these rollers are below the top of the shaft 14 of thescrew to permit the rods R to pass.

16 which forms a spiral guide- Spaced from "but parallel with the screwG is another screw S which is level than the screw G, the level beingsuch that the adjacent end of therods B may abut the screw. This screwlike the other screw particularly identified as a shaft "28 having athread 30 whichforms a spiral guideway 32 wherein the adjacent end ofthe work or rods B may be received. One end of the screw shaft 28 issupported in a suitable hearing 34 similar to the adj acent' bearing 20for the other screw shaft. The other end'of the screw shaft 28is'supported in a bearing, such as will permit the work or rods to passthe hearing. A suitable bearing for this purpose is shown in detail inFig. 3 and as shown consists of a standard 36 which is cored its upperend to receive a reduced "portionof the bearing head being ofsubstantially the same diameter as the screw shaft 28.

Other ways of supporting the shaft will those skilled in the art.

for convenience of description be moreat a higher of the screw shaft 28,the outside diameter,

moved. The reasons why the present show-.

ing is preferred will become apparent as the description proceeds. VExtending lengthwise of the screws therei between is a work supportingbar so, the level of this bar being such that when the work reststhereon the'adjacent end of the workmay abut the screw S at the frontthereof as 'clearly indicated in Fig. 2. As viewed in Fig. 2 the screw Crotates counter-clockwise and therefore the friction between screw C V,and the work it thereon tends to displace the work toward the screw S,or in other words tends to'prevent it from being pushed into thefurnace. The screw S,in the same View,

rotates clockwise and thereforeby reason of the frictional contactbetween it and the abutting end of the work tends to force the adjacentportion of the work into firm engagement with the bar 40.- It will nowbe seen that if the screw S had its thread run ning in the samedirection as screw C it would have to rotate in the same direction asscrew 0 and the tendency would then be for the work, due to saidfrictional contact at its end, to move upwardly from the bar 40. Forassisting in holding the work on the bar 40 there may be provided apressure bar &2 hinged as 'by arms 44: to a suitable frame which asshown are the frames 456 within which the rollers 38 for the screw S aresecured.

The shafts 14 and 28 of the screws 0 and S respectively, project beyondtheir end bear-- mgs 520 and 3,4 respectively and to the ends thereofare secured gears 48 and 50 respectively, which are in mesh. (in one ofthe shafts is secured a driving member shown as a sprocket wheel 52which is adapted to be connect'ed to any suitable driving means, notshown.

The screws are preferably so mounted as tod be relativelyadjustablelaterally with respect to each other and to the furnace. Slots54 in the bearing sup )orts may be provided for that purpose. (Etherarrangements may of course be employed and provision also made forcorrespondingly adjusting the roller bearings as will be readilyunderstood. Adjustability of the shafts is desirable in order toaccommodate. different lengths of work.

The work R is deposited on the conveyor at its front or receiving end inany suitable manner. As shown, there is provided a hop-- per 56'tvhereina supply of the rods It may be deposited. Leading downwardly andforwardly from the side of the hopper at the bottom thereof to aposition adjacent the screws 0 and S is a slide 58 having at one-side anupstanding flange 60 which is 1n line with the inside surface of thescrew shaft 28. The

before it passes the bearing 36 menace One form of mechanism fordischarging I the work from the con veyin g apparatus will next bedescribed. As shown, the screw S is somewhat shorter than the screw G.On the screw shaft 14 (in front of its end bearing 22) is provided anabutment or thread stop 62 which may be considered as a portion of theshaft minus the thread 1 6. A chute 64 has its receiving end positionedalongside the stop 62. The adjacent end of the supporting bar 40 has itsend bent downwardly and forwardly as indicated at 40". When the work orrod R reaches the end of the screw S it (the outer end thereof) slidesdown the inclined end 40 of its supporting bar l0 and the whole rodfalls or tends to move into the chute 64:. Since the screw shaft C tendsto displace the work outwardly from the furnace as previously explainedthe rod is assisted into the chute. If the furnace end of the rodreaches the stop it willride up on the stop and thus assume such anangle of inclination that it must leave the screw C and drop into thechute. The guideway 18 on the screw shaft 14: is partially extended intothe stop and comes to an abrupt stop so as to provide a shoulder thereonas indicated at 62 in Fig. 3. This shoulder tends to positively push therod R from the shaft as will be readily understood.

Since one end of the work It is supported on the bar 40 in front of thescrew S it will be readily apparent that by terminating the bar 40 shortof the outer end of the screw S. the work may be caused to leave theconveyer for the screw S.

What is claimed is:

1. In a conveyor, the combination of a longitudinally extending;object-supporting member, a shaft alongside of said member in such'aplane that an elongated object may be disposed crosswise of the shaftand member for support, a second shaft alongside of said member in sucha plane that the adjacent end of the object may abut the shaft below thetop thereof whereby to prevent longitudinal a of the object may abut theshaft-below the for support, a second shaft alongside of said memberinsuch a plane that the adjacent end of the object may abut the shaftbelow the top thereofwhereby to prevent longitudinal displacement ofsaid objectfin one direction,

and a spiral guideway on each of said shafts ada ted to shift saidobject axially of the sha ts as the latter are rotated, means forrotating the first mentioned shaft in a direction .tending to cause theobject to move into abutting engagement with the second shaft, and meansfor rotating said second shaft in a direction tending to move the ob ectdownwardly. A

41 In a conveyer, the combination of a longitudinally extendingobject-supporting member, a shaft alongside of said member in such aplane that an elongated object maybe;

disposed crosswise of the shaft andvmcmber posed thereacrossthbobject-supporting side of said member being between planes which aretangent to the upper and lower sides respectively of said shafts,-andmeans for rotating said shafts in a manner to cause an elongated objectsupported on said member and said one shaft to move longitudinally ofsaid shafts when'in contact therewith.

7. In a conveyor, the combination of a pair of radially spaced screwshafts, a member extending lengthwise of and between said shafts andadapted in conjunction with one of said shafts to support an elongatedobject disposed thereacross, the object-supporting side of said memberbeing between planes which are tangent to the upper and lower sidesrespectively ofsaid shafts, and means for rotating said shafts in amanner to cause an elongated obfor support, a second shaft alongside ofsaid member-in such a plane that the adjacent end of the object may'abutthe shaft below the top thereof whereby to prevent longitudinaldisplacement of said object in one direction, and a spiral guideway oneach of said shafts ada ted to shift said. object axially of the sha tsas the latter are rotated, and means on the object-supporting shaft forelevating the object above the guideway thereon to discharge the objectradially of the shaft.

5. In a conveyer, the combination of a longitudinally extendingobject-supporting member, a shaft alongside of said member in such aplane that an elongated object may be disposed crosswise of the shaftand member for support, a second shaft alongside of said member in suchaplane that the adjacent end of the object may abut theshaft below thetop thereof whereby to prevent longitudinal displacement of said objectin one direction, and a spiral guideway on each of said shafts adaptedto shift said object axially of the shafts as the latter are rotated,the object supporting shaft being rotated in a direction tending tocause the object supported thereon to move by frictional contacttherewith into abutting relation with the other shaft.

6. In a conveyer, the combination of a pairof radially spaced screwshafts, a member extending lengthwise of and between said shafts andadapted in conjunction with one of said shafts to support an elongatedobject disject supported on said member and said one shaft to movelongitudinally of said shafts when in contact therewith, said one shaftbeing rotated in such a manner as will tend to force one end of saidobject against the other shaft;

Intestimony whereof I affix m signature.

' WILLIAM M. HE BURN.

